At that show, he didn't have to break into "Billie Jean" to woo the crowd, but he did anyway; and did so without pretense. It was less "hey everyone, look at me and how clever I can be by sliding in this 80s cover," and more "hey, this is fun and i like this song!"
At that show, shoes off and sweating hard, I couldn't get enough of how this kid—who looks like a tall clunky white guy who could niether dance or sing—could so smoothly do both.
Onstage
In fact, Dennen glides onstage, his body a vehicle for his craft. When he breaks into song, his tentative, scratchy speaking voice gives way to a far more natural, soulful tone.At close listen, it becomes clear that many of the songs on his Dualtone debut, So Much More sound alike, without much melody or variation. Somehow that doesn't matter either. What is lacking in actual melody within his songs is compensated by Dennen's natrually melodic being.
All these qualities are things musicians work on for years, aiming with each performance for the ultimate goal of making everything look natural and uncontrived, of making the playing of music more like playing and less like work.
Now, half a year later, following performances at Bonnaroo and tours with Sheryl Crow and John Mayer, a turn on Dave Matthews' Cruise Tour, Dennen returns to Seattle. This time, it's storming out and the people have turned out in throngs. This all ages show in one of Seattle's trendiest neighborhoods has literally attracted an audience as diverse as the five-year-old girls standing on their parents' shoulders, and the greying, aging couple in front of me.
Girls are here in groups, giggling over how cute big, tall Brett is when he appears onstage with opener Tom Freun, his bright red hair brushed all into his face.
Dennen is pure joy onstage, gesticulating with his large hands and speaking in a part mumble. It's hard to hear what he says when he speaks, but hard to miss what he's doing when he moves into a song.
On Record
His songs are part reggae, part mainstreamy acousti-pop, and part old school American folk music. The bio on his Web site compares him to everyone from Woody Guthrie to James Taylor, Rufus Wainwright, and Steve Earle. So Much More jumps from beautiful, heart-warming love songs ("She's Mine," "The One Who Loves You the Most") to contemporary protest songs like the title track.What Dennen is missing in deep philosophical poetry is replaced by the fact that he just means it, which is the most important thing of all.
Dennen's current national "Love Speaks" tour benefits a local organization in each city in which he plays. For more information about this, his involvement with the Mosaic Project, and song samples, visit BrettDennen.com
